The Biomarker-Driven Oncology Therapy Market Will Garner Over $14 Billion Across The Major Markets In 2022
Market Growth Will Be Aided By New Market Entrants And Increased Biomarker Screening In Select Oncology Indications

BURLINGTON, Mass., May 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Resources Group's new Pharmacor report entitled Biomarker-Driven Prescribing in Oncology finds that biomarker testing is standard practice in an increasing number of oncology indications, including those covered in the report—breast cancer, colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, ovarian cancer, malignant melanoma and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). By 2022, Decision Resources Group anticipates that several predictive biomarkers (including c-Met overexpression and BRCA1/2-mutations) will be routinely screened for in one or more oncology indications. In total, the biomarker-driven therapy market for the indications covered in the report is forecasted to see substantial sales growth through 2022, reaching over $14 billion, at an annual growth rate of approximately 8 percent.

Hurdles for molecular testing: Penetration of molecular testing can be problematic for some indications due to hurdles relating to limited tumor samples and turnaround times for test results. Tissue management and timely delivery of molecular testing results are at the forefront of medical oncologists' and pathologists' minds.

Sales for targeted agents: The most lucrative biomarker-associated drug class over the forecast period will be the EGFR/HER2-targeted agents, which will account for over three quarters of the sales in this market in 2022. Several drugs in this class are approved to treat smaller subsets of patients, however the robustness of the biomarker associated with these therapies, their premium price and the length of time these drugs have been available help to drive their high sales.

ALK-inhibitors and PARP-inhibitors: Increased competition within biomarker populations means that achieving good sales can be challenging for any one drug. By the end of the 2012 to 2022 market forecast period, Decision Resources Group expects three ALK-inhibitors will be approved in NSCLC, and that four PARP-inhibitors will be approved in breast cancer, all vying for patient share in these small populations.

Increasing market competition: In 2012, ten companies held stakes in biomarker-associated oncology therapies for the indications covered in this report. By 2022, the number of such companies is expected to nearly double. The growing number of companies with agents in biomarker-driven populations will create strong competition through 2022.

Quotes:

Decision Resources Group Analyst Amy Duval said: "The identification of a niche patient subpopulation with a marker predictive of therapeutic benefit creates a driver for faster and higher market penetration. Prime examples of drugs associated with biomarkers predictive of response that have achieved high saturation in their target markets are Herceptin (Roche/Genentech/Chugai), Tarceva (Roche/Genentech/Astellas/Chugai) and Zelboraf (Roche/Genentech/Daiichi Sankyo/Chugai)."

Decision Resources Group Analyst Orestis Mavroudis-Chocholis adds: "The largest biomarker-defined patient population under study is KRAS-wild type colorectal cancer patients, however sales of associated therapies accounted for only one-quarter of all biomarker-driven therapy sales in 2012 as they face competition from non-biomarker associated agents in this indication with strong efficacy data. Conversely, HER2-targeted therapies in breast cancer account for almost 40 percent of sales despite the lower incidence of HER2-positive breast cancer; HER2 overexpression is viewed as a more robust biomarker based on the efficacy benefits seen with HER2-targeted agents in these patients."

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